1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for removing undesirable elements from light organic liquid products, obtained as a by-product of solvent refined coal liquefaction processes, while preserving octane number.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With ever increasing demands on fossil fuels as a source of energy and ever decreasing supplies of crude petroleum within the United States, the nation must turn more and more to the use of coal. Yet the people of this country have mandated through their representatives that they do not want the anticipated use of coal to degrade their environment.
The air pollutants of particular concern are nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulates. Nitrogen oxides are formed from nitrogen in air as well as organic nitrogen in the fuel, and their concentration is primarily a function of combustion parameters. Sulfur oxides and particulates are a function of the chemical composition of the fuel used.
Coal is liquefied by exposing it to hydrogen gas or a hydrogen-bearing solvent under pressure and, in many processes, in the presence of a catalyst. Temperatures are kept below 900.degree. F. so that hydrocarbon molecules are not destroyed. Alternately, coal can be destructively distilled by heating in such a way that its volatile components are given off and can be condensed as a liquid. The net result is to add hydrogen or remove carbon, in the process shortening the length of the hydrocarbon molecular chains. Hydrogen is generated by gasifying a portion of the coal or of a coal residue in most schemes, and this is a substantial part of the cost of liquefaction. Sulfur content of the coal is also an important constraint, since hydrogen is also needed to remove this contaminant (as hydrogen sulfide gas) in proportion to the amount of sulfur present. In theory, it is somewhat easier and cheaper to make a heavy oil from coal suitable for a boiler fuel than a synthetic crude oil that can be refined to gasoline, since the crude oil product requires adding about twice as much hydrogen--between 5 and 10 percent of the coal's weight. Boiler fuels may also have an economic advantage in that they would supply a regulated market--the electric utility industry that now generates about 30 percent of its power with oil and natural gas--making commercial introduction somewhat easier.
The three direct general processes for converting coals to liquid fuels are: catalyzed hydrogenation, staged pyrolysis, and solvent refining (1,2). Each of these processes results in the production of a coal liquid which contains a variety of desirable and undesirable components. The desirable coal liquids are the oils-saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons and the resins-polar nonhydrocarbons.
The undesirable species are the asphaltenes and the carbenes-high molecular weight highly aromatic solids, and the carboids-polymerized coke-like materials. The undesirable elements: metals, sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen are generally present in higher concentration in the asphaltene and carboid fractions. Under hydrogenolysis conditions, the conversion of coal to oil has been suggested to proceed via the following sequence (3): Coal.fwdarw.Asphaltene.fwdarw.Oil. Therefore, asphaltene generation and elimination are of great importance in the liquefaction process.
One commercial process for coal-to-liquids produces synthetic gasoline and other motor fuels, along with pipeline gas, ammonia, and other products. Coal is gasified to produce synthesis gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) and then, using the Fischer-Tropsch process, the synthesis gas is converted to a mixture of hydrocarbons.
Another process is the "Solvent Refined Coal" process, which is a method of dissolving coal to remove ash, reducing its sulfur content and lowering its average molecular weight. Pulverized coal is mixed with a solvent and hydrogen and heated until most of it dissolves. Gases including hydrogen sulfide are removed, as are ash and other undissolved solids. A fraction of the remaining liquid is recycled as the solvent, and the rest is product, a low-sulfur boiler fuel that is solid at room temperature but melts readily at about 375.degree. F.
It is the light organic liquid derived from the Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) process that is the starting material of this invention. FNT 1. Burke, D. P., Chem. Week, 115, 38 (1974). FNT 2. Cochran, N. P., Sci. Amer., 234, 24 (1976).